See all the new images NASA has taken of the interstellar comet
A comet hurtling through the solar system from interstellar space is exactly what it appears to be, NASA officials said Wednesday, moving to quash a wave of online speculation.
At a news conference, scientists released new spacecraft images of Comet 3I/ATLAS and described a full-court press to photograph the object before it disappears for good. NASA has pointed an array of observatories at the comet — including the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Lucy and Psyche missions — to capture as much data as possible while it remains within view.
Conspiracy theories flourished during the federal government shutdown, some claiming the comet was alien technology. The pause in federal communications let rumors spread unchecked, said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator.
You May Also Like
"It looks and behaves like a comet, and all evidence points to it being a comet," he said. "But this one came from outside the solar system, which makes it fascinating, exciting, and scientifically very important."
Comet 3I/ATLAS formed around another star and was later ejected — likely by a gravitational jolt from a planet or passing star — before drifting across interstellar space for hundreds of millions of years. It entered the solar system traveling roughly 137,000 mph, a speed too high for the sun’s gravity to trap it. The comet is never expected to return.
NASA says the object poses no threat to Earth. The closest it will ever come to our planet is 170 million miles away.
Only two other confirmed interstellar visitors have ever been recorded: 'Oumuamua in 2017 and Comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.
Comets are balls of ice and rock that heat up as they near the sun, releasing gas and dust in bright, sweeping tails. Most known comets are leftovers from the solar system’s formation 4.6 billion years ago, though thousands more likely lurk beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt and, farther still, in the Oort Cloud.
Because 3I/ATLAS comes from a different stellar neighborhood, scientists expect some surprises. Early readings show that its carbon dioxide–to–water ratio does not match typical solar system comets, and researchers have spotted some unusual amounts of metals and dust features.
But none of those traits, NASA officials emphasized, suggest anything artificial.
"It’s going to look different because it didn’t come from our solar system," said Nicky Fox, NASA’s associate administrator for the science mission directorate. "And that’s what makes it so magical."
Capturing clear images has pushed NASA’s fleet to its limits. Each spacecraft is watching from a different angle, with its own viewing constraints and camera quirks.
"Remember, space is big," said Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies. "Nothing is ever really as close as you like, and all of these observations are very, very difficult. It's a little bit as if our NASA spacecraft were at a baseball game, watching the game from different places in the stadium. Everybody has got a camera, and they're trying to get a picture of the ball, and nobody has a perfect view, and everybody has a different camera."
Scientists say the observations will help them understand the raw materials in other planetary systems and provide insight into how they form.
Topics NASA
Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds. Through 17 years of reporting, she's covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association's top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards, including first place for her Sex in Space series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email protected] or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers.
